This is a classic case of making something so that something else can be made, more commonly known as a 'tool' I think, lol, so, this is a classic case of turning what could of been a short sentence into a long sentence...

Picture above, It's just a little lump of plastic with the top formed into the required shape needed for the metal return skids, with a little locking plate added as well to keep things square, bending the thin metal plates is fairly easy, but getting them all the same is not so easy, but if you make a 'forming tool' then the job gets a lot easier.

Picture above, and this is the end result, lots of little pieces of metal all bent to the same shape, roughly, they still have to be cut to length, trimmed a little, and mounting holes added for the Masterclub resin bolt heads, but you get the idea, these return skids are the early type, there are three different types I think, early, mid and late. what can you put on a Grizzly? mid or late seems to be a safe bet.

Pictures below, on the left is the 'mid' return skid as seen on my Tasca bogies in the pictures above, and on the right is the more normal 'late' return skid, Tasca provides the late return skid in their kit, done in plastic.

Pictures above, on the left is a picture of some 'big rib' Grizzly bogies with the mid return skid fitted, and on the right is a good close up shot of the return roller sitting on 'pillows' (raising blocks) mounted to a straight/flat return roller bracket.

Pictures above and below, two nice pictures showing the General Steel Logo that can be found on M4A1 cast hulls that have been cast by General Steel, I think that it's correct to say that all Grizzly tanks have this mark, and in all the pictures I've seen so far they all have this logo on the front hull, the four little dots seem to be four little stars

Picture above, I must of looked at the M4A1 Grizzly turret a thousand times but never before now noticed that there is a General Steel Logo on the back of the turret (highlighted in the white square) In my defence, most of them have a storage box on the back of the turret which covers it up, and that is the purpose of those five lugs that are welded on near the logo that can also be seen, they are to mount the storage box.

Picture below, It's not going to be easy to add this to my hull, I've had a look around on the internet and I can't find anyone who does this mark/logo as a transfer or etching, so I'm going to have to make it myself, I will probably have to try and recreate it with some very thin stretched sprue, and I'm not looking forward to that...

And Snuggles, given half the chance, would probably call the above picture a load of 'arty farty' nonsense, and with that summary, he would probably be right.

Matt, his real name is SK, stands for Shi**y Kitty (it rhymes), the name he earned in a hotel room in a little town in Oklahoma during a four-wheeling trip, which is quite a story. "Piglet" is a name he also responds to, earned from his eating habits.He's pretty cool, as much dog as cat.

Love the work you have done so far Matt, the lower hull and custom transmission housing look great. Will soon be starting a similar build where I will be scratch building a lower hull for an M4 Composite upper, problem is I do not have something to copy the lower hull with all the drain holes, panels and everything from.

Willem, If you don't have anything to copy from, for instance a Tasca lower hull, which in my humble opinion is the most accurate thing to copy from in terms of kit plastic, the only problem being of course is that Tasca kits are in very short supply at the moment (almost impossible to buy now in the UK)

So, if you have nothing solid to copy from, then I would recommend buying/borrowing Son of Sherman (I tend to just call it SoS in this build log) Son of Sherman has quite a few drawings showing lower and upper hulls, plus all the details that need to be added, brace bars, access hatches and drain plugs, that kinda stuff, and the Tasca lower hull seems to match up very well indeed with the book drawings.

I'm not a big fan of reference books to be honest, a fair few are just too expensive for my liking, I tend to just hunt pictures on the net, It's mostly free, a huge amount of info can now be found on the net.

Good to hear, I am back in the states at home how ever all my stuff is probably still sitting in Taiwan waiting on an actual slow boat from China to bring it home. Not sure when I will see my tools again.. a month or two at best I am sure. Till then I will have to just dream of working on models and get stuff done around the house I guess.

Willem, If you don't have anything to copy from, for instance a Tasca lower hull, which in my humble opinion is the most accurate thing to copy from in terms of kit plastic, the only problem being of course is that Tasca kits are in very short supply at the moment (almost impossible to buy now in the UK)

So, if you have nothing solid to copy from, then I would recommend buying Son of Sherman Volume 1 (I tend to just call it SoS in this build log) Son of Sherman has quite a few drawings showing lower and upper hulls, plus all the details that need to be added, brace bars, access hatches and drain plugs, that kinda stuff, and the Tasca lower hull seems to match up very well indeed with the book drawings.

I'm not a big fan of reference books to be honest, a fair few are just overpriced junk, I tend to just prefer hunting pictures on the net, (It's mostly free) a huge amount of info is now on the net, but if you are into Sherman's, then Son of Sherman Volume 1 is a very good buy, a good quality book, expensive, but quality.

Just got said book today, blimey people weren't kidding this really is the book to get as far as Shermans go. Only things it's missing are side profiles of the various hull variants, glacis angles and lower rear hull profiles. Either I find one for an M4 Composite elsewhere or find someone who would be willing to let me borrow their Tasca lower hull to copy.

Kharkov - "Can you play me a memory, Snuggles?"Snuggles - "That depends Dad, I'm not really sure how it goes..."Kharkov - "I'll give you a clue Snuggles." Snuggles - "Make it a big clue Dad!"Kharkov - "It's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete,..Snuggles?"Snuggles - "When I wore a younger man's cloths,..it's Piano Man Dad!"Kharkov - "Well, we're all in the mood for a melody..."Snuggles - "Sing us a song Dad!"